My Top 5 Highlights from Travelling in South Africa

My incredible journey to South Africa offered me some things I had never experienced before and opened my mind up to a country enjoying a tourism boom since the 2010 World Cup. I spent 3 weeks touring South Africa and these were my top 5 highlights.

Highlights from backpacking in South Africa

1. Staying in Soweto
I loved the district of Soweto. This is a world famous township. I was able to stay in the classic Soweto Backpackers with local entrepreneur Lebo. I toured Nelson Mandela’s House, the Hector Pieterson Museum and went on a bicycle tour. It was a brilliant place to stay and I met some cool people in Soweto, which has 2 million residents and is just outside Johannesburg.

Nelson Mandela’s House in Soweto

2. Durban
The city of Durban is well worth a check and I found it to be really diverse. There is a World Cup football stadium here, a Maritime Museum and some awesome bars and museums, including a building that resembles Belfast City Hall in Northern Ireland.

Maritime Museum, Durban

3. Capital Pretoria
It’s rumoured that South Africa has three different capitals and Pretoria is kind of the main one. I spent a couple of days checking this place out and loved the leafy charm of it. The Union Buildings government and park is a cool spot but the city can be dodgy at night.

Pretoria, South Africa

4. Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg
The whole Apartheid era is something I was fascinated by and I decided to read up on it and visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. Yes, it can be disturbing to see how things once where here in South Africa but it’s worthwhile and insightful.

At the Apartheid Museum in Joburg

5. Wildlife, Kruger National Park
Doing a safari has to be one of your highlights during your time in Africa. Yes there may be tents for sale everywhere, but I’d recommend going with a group. You don’t want an animal creeping into your tent at night! Make sure you are ready with your eagle eyes and cameras to snap that lion in action as you try and spot “the big five”.

Safari in South Africa

So get out to South Africa and go backpacking and you will love it!